Tank and valve assembly and method of making same



Nov. 30, 1943. y J, N. PAQUIN ErAL 2,335,694

TANK AND VALVE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD 0F MAKING SAME Filed Aug. 3, 1940nillllx I Ii INVENTORS fasfP/f /vozfNA/v maza/N .7o/wv D- Bum/WN, 77-

Patented Nov. 30,

i UNITED sTA'rEsfPArl-:Nr OFFICE y TANK AND VALVE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FMAKING SAME Joseph Norman Paquin, Euclid, Ohio, and John D. Baldwin,Jr., Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to The Weatherhead Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio l Application Amst 3, 1940,serial No. 359,206

s claims. (m29-158.2)

.equipped with valves adapted to shut oil the flow i of liquid from thereceiver vto the evaporator and with outlets for purging the system ofair. Prior to this'inVentiOn, individual connections to the tank weremade for each of these fittings, andthe drawn cups or stampings I0 and II, the stamping II having an enlargedI portion I2 adapted to receive theperipheral edge portion of the stamping I0. The enlargement I2 alsoprovides an internal y shoulder I3 so that the washers I4 and I5supporting the screen I6 may be clamped between the shoulder I3 and theend IT of thestamping I0. Further, the lower stamping II may be providedwith a mounting stud I8 secured to the bottom thereof so that thereceiver can be conveniently mounted in the structure of therefrigerator. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that for somesizes and shapes of tanks it will be impossible to' form the tank fromonly two stampings. Larger tanks, for example,.may require tubular-bodyportions with drawn caps sevarious connectionsv vwere made through thethreaded joints which, ofcourse, present thelpossibility of leakage.

According to the present invention the cost and v weight of the tanksare greatly reduced by forming the tvanks from comparatively thin-walledsteel stampings vwhile the valves` and fiuid\con nections arepermanently and securely joined to the tanks by strong meta1 bonds, thestamped parts of the tanks and the valves and fluid connectionspreferably being united into a single structure by copper brazing, withpreferably only a single opening through the wall of the tank.

It is, therefore,l among the objects o f the present invention'toprovidean improved and economical receiver tank valve assembly particularly,adapted for use with mechanical refrigeration. Another object istoprovide an economical and eiilcient method of making such valves.Another object is to provide such an assembly wherein threaded jointsare eliminated and tank and valve are brazed into an integral assembly.A

further object is to provide a receiver tank incorporating a strainertherein. A still further object is to provide a receiver tank in whichthe sound of the refrigerant trickling into the tank is subi stantiallyeliminated.

A preferred form of our invention whereby the above and other objectsare attained is illustrated in the drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a verticalsectional view through a tank and valve assembly made according to ourinvention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the assembly shown in Fig. 1;`and Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary sectional details as indicated by thelines 3-3 and l-I.

As shown in the drawing, a receiver tank made according to our inventionmay comprise-two eured' theretoto form the ends of the tank.

In order to provide for the flow of refrigerant into and the dischargeofrefrigerant from the receiver, the-upper surface of the drawn cup III isarched upwardly as indicated at 20, the center of the arch beingrecessed or depressed as shown at 2l. The sides 22 of Athe recessedportion 2|. are formed to coincide with longitudinally extendingsurfacesof the valve body 23 which preferably is formed of a hexagonalbar off ferrous material. rThe 4depressed* or recessed portion 2|terminates at either end in slightly raised portions 2l which engage theflat undersurface 25 of the valve body 23 at spaced points as shown inFig. 1. This construction provides an enclosed fluid conducting space orpassageway 26 v in the completed assemblyf' this passageway4.communicating with the' interior of" the tank through the opening 28,and being connected to another part of the fluid system, ordinarily thecondenser, through the passageways 29 and 33 drilled in the valve block23, and the tube 3l connected to passageway 3 0 by any convenientcoupling such as that illustrated at 32. Thus 'fluid lfrom -thecondenser can flow through the tube 3|, passagesv 29 and 30, thepassageway 26. formed between the valve bodyvand the depressed portion2l of the stamping Ill and opening 23, to the interior of the receiver.

The liquid refrigerant is discharged `from the receiver through a tube33 extending from the vaive'body 23 downwardly through the opening 28,through the washer 34 carried by the screen I3, to a pointadjacentthebottom of the receiver. tank. This tube is of smallerdiameter than the opening 23 so that space is left around the tube forthe refrigerant vfrom the passageway 2| .to

flow into the tank. By this arrangement the liq-l i pieces of copperwire or pellets of copper thereto uid refrigerant flowing from thepassageway 2B into the tank will trickle down the exterior of the tube33 so that it will be discharged into the terior of the valve body andprovided with a gasket 4I to make a huid-tight connection.

The refrigerant, in ordinary operation, flows past the valve member 35and into the passage.

way 43 (see Fig. 4) to the tube 44 secured to the valve assembly by acoupling member 43. In ordinary installations the tube 44 leads to theevaporator or cooling coil of the refrigerator.

To provide for purging the refrigeration system of air or for supplyingadditional refrigerant thereto, the valve body 23 is provided with anadditional opening or passageway 46 leading from the passageway 30 andclosed by a plug 41' of any convenient form. If desired, this plug maybe a fusible block which will release the pressure in the receiver inthe event the temperature exceeds a predetermined amount.

L In manufacturing the tank and valve assembly we preferably form thetank'parts from ferrous sheet material into the shapes shown and described, form the valve body from ferrous bar stock to conform to thetop of the tank, and join the parts together by a copper brazingoperation to provide a strong and leakproof assembly. This Ais preventedby thecap 4l! threaded on the exoperation is carried out, as known tothose skilled in the art, by assembling the parts to be joined,supplying copper to the mating surfaces of the parts and then passingthe assembly through a furnace having a controlled reducing atmospherein which the temperature of the assembly is raised to about 2200" F.Underthese conditions and with the proper atmosphere, the copper fusesand alloys with the underlying ferrous material. The copper flowsbetween the contiguous surfaces to form extremely strong and reliableleakproof joints. A

In conjunction with the present assembly the brazing operation iscarried out by assembling the halves I0 and I I of the receiver tanktogether with the screen and washer assembly I4, I5 and I6, in place.The tube 33 is threaded into the opening 41 in the valve body, lightthreads being employed merely to hold the tubel in position until thebra-zing operation is completedl The valve body 23 with the tubeassembled therewith is placed in the position shown in the drawing withthe sides thereof in engagement with the sides 22 of the depressedportion 2l and the fiat under-surface thereof in engagement with theraised portions 24. The fittings or threaded bosses 4l and 43 ,areplaced in the positions shown or by copper plating the parts beforeassembly or by other methods known to those skilled in the art. Theassembly, consisting of the tank parts I0 and II, the screen and washerassembly, the tube 33, the valve body 23 and fluid conducting bosses 48and 49, is then placed in the brazing furnace and in a single operationall of these parts are securely and permanently joined together with theformation of fluid-tight joints, withv the connection in between thetank and valve within the area bounded by the duid-tight bond betweenthese parts.- Thereafter the valve stem and packing may be assembledwith the valve body and the further fluid fittings such as thetting 3land the block 41 maybe applied thereto.

Receiver "tank assemblies made according to our invention areadvantageous in that they are light and strong and in that the usualthreaded connections between the fluid conduits and the tank areeliminated. Thevassemblies arecompact and can be economicallymanufactured and readily installed in mechanical refrigerators. Thecopper brazing operation produces strong and leakproof joints and by.the formation of a passageway between the valve body and the tank auidconnection is eliminated and the flow of fluid into the tank is madesubstantially noiseless. Those skilled in the art will understand thatvarious changes and modifications can be made in our invention withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof and that our invention canbe adapted to other types of tank and valve assemblies. Therefore, it isto beunderstood that our patent is not limited to the preferred form ofour invention specifically described herein or in any manner other thanby the scope of the appended claims when given the range of equivalentsto which ourpatent may be entitled.

We claim: 1. A tank and valve assembly comprising a tank made up offerrous parts copper brazed together, and a valve having a body formedof hexagonal steel bar stock. the exterior of the `body being -copperbrazed to the exterior of said tank, there being an opening in the Wallof said tank within the area bounded by the copper brazed connectiontherebetween, the wall of said v tank being spaced from said valve bodyadjacent said opening and within said area, and the space within saidarea and between the wall of said tank and saidl valve body constitutinga fluid passageway between the exterior of said valve and the exteriorof said tank in communication with said opening.

, an opening in the wall of saidtank within the in the drawing and maybe' held in position as ing or spot welding. 1,

The necessary copper may be supplied to the adjacent surfaces of theparts by applying small y ly area bounded by the copper brazedconnection therebetween, the wall of said tank being spaced from saidvalve body adjacent said opening and within said area, the space withinsaid area and between the wall of said tank and said valve bodyconstituting a fluid passageway. disposed between theexterior of saidvalve and the exterior of said tank in communicationwith said opening,said valve body .having a passageway in communication with said firstnamed passageway, and a duid conduit connected to said valve theinterior of said tank.

-asaaeoi exterior of said tank, there being an opening in the wall ofsaid tank within the area bounded by the copper brazed connectiontherebetween,

the wall of said tank being spaced from said f valve body and said tank.

valve body adjacent said opening, the space between the wall of saidtank and said valve body constituting va fluid passageway disposedbetween the exterior of said valve and the exterior of said tank incommunication with said opening and/ surrounded by said copper brazedconnection, said valve body having an inlet passagevway in communicationwith said first passageway, a valve controlled outlet passageway, and afluid conduit connected to saidoutlet passageway extending through saidopening into the interior of said tank for conducting fluid there-ifrom. Y

4. A tank and valve assembly comprising a steel tank and a valve having,a steel body, the

exterior of the body, being permanently joined to the exterior of saidtank by a'fluid-tight metallic bond, there being an opening in the wallof said tank within the area bounded by the bonded connectiontherebetween, a fluid passageway disposed between the exterior of saidvalve 'and the exterior of said tank in communication with teriorsurface having a depressed portion there' in, said depressed portionhaving surfaces consaid opening and surrounded by said bondedconnection, said valve body having an inlet pas- .sageway incommunication with said first passageway, a valve controlled outletpassageway `and a fluid conduit connected to said outlet paswithsurfaces adapted to conform to 'exterior longitudinally extendingsurfaces of said valve body and to provide an enclosed passageway be- Ytween the exterior of said valve body and the 5 exterior of said wall,and copper 'brazing said A valve body to said tank to form fluid-tight`connections between contiguous surfaces thereof.

6. Al method of making tank and valve assemblies including the steps offormi'rg a valve body,Y

from hexagonal ferrous bar stock, vforming a plurality of tank partsfrom ferrous sheet stock. providing one of said parts with a raised e'xfforming to exterior longitudinally extending surfaces of said valve bodyto form an enclosed 4 body, forming a tanky having a wall providedterior of said valve body within the area bounded by said conformingsurfaces, assembling said tank parts and said valve body together, sup-5 plying copper to contacting surfaces -of saidl parts and heating saidassembly in a furnace to copperbraze said tank parts together andA saidvalve 4bodythereto, to provide a fluid-tight tank anda fluid-tightconnection between said 7. A tank and valve assembly comprising a steeltank and a valve having a steel body, the

passageway between saidtank part and the ex.

exterior of the body being permanently vjoined y .to the exterior of thetank by a iiuid-tight metallicbondythere being an opening in the wall ofsaid tank within the area bounded by the bonded connection therebetween,a fluid passageway disposed between the exterior of said valve and theexterior of said tank in communication with said opening and within saidarea,

. said valve body having a passageway in com@l municatin with said fluidpassageway, and a fluid conduit connected to said valve body andextending through said opening into the interior of said tank.

` 8. A receiver tank assembly for mechanical refrigeration systemscomprising a tank adapted to contain refrigerant under pressure and avalve bodyhaving a passageway therein adapted to conduct liquidrefrigerant from thecondenser of the refrigeration system to the tankandv also having a valve controlled passageway adapted to conduct liquidrefrigerant from the interior of said tankto a uid conduit leading tothe evaporator of the refrigeration system, said valve bodyV beingdisposed with its longitudinally extending surfaces in engagement .withthe exterior of the tank, the exterior of the tank having an upwardlyarched surface, the center of the arch being recessed, the sides of therecessed portion being formed to coincide withadjacent surfaces of thevalve body and terminating in slightly raised portions coinciding withadjacent surfaces of the valve body, the adjacent surfaces of the 5ovalve body and tank being bonded together by a fluid-tight metallicbond, an enclosed passageway between the exterior of the tank and the,exterior of the valve body within the area vbounded by said metallicbond, said passageway U in the valve body communicating withv saidenclosed passageway,v therel being anV` opening through the wall of thetank communicating with said enclosed passageway, a tube extending fromthe said valve controlled passageway of said valve body through saidopening into said tank to a point belowthe' normal liquid level therein,said tube being of a smallerdiameter than said opening, and a space vonthe exterior of the tube and within said opening' through which fluidcan o. flow from said enclosed passageway to the tank.

JOSEPH NORMAN PAQUIN. JOHN D. BALDWIN, JR.

